RTV # 45 Tips for group toys

A Year of Raising the Village. Week # 45: Tips for Group Toys.

Toys, they are not just for children's play. Toys can increase participation in community or organizational meetings.

This list, from Meeting Excellence by Parker and Hoffman, contains several key toys whose use and interpretation are flexible:

• soft squeeze rubber ball


• Koosh ball, nerf ball


• slinky


• Rubik's cube


• yoyo


• wooden cup with ball on string


• train whistle


• clapper

In our bag of tricks we also tend to include toy animals, mirrors, Disney characters (big symbolism usually!) and blocks. We've used a ball to signal when it is someone else's turn to share/talk on an agenda (keeps people awake on on their toes too)! We've heard of people who use noisemakers to liven up the space and acknowledge each contributer with positive (and loud) feedback. "That was easy" buttons have been popular when decisions are made. We've placed play dough and pipe cleaners on the table to recharge mental energy and for a guaranteed splash of fun.

One of the most effective use of toys came in one of our recent workshops on Collaboration and Authentic Engagement, we asked participants to create group definitions using bags of toys/props as metaphors. The activity was challenging enough to stretch people's thinking yet fun enough to generate much laughter and creativity. One particularly intense group stuffed a slinky full of other toys in an elaborately explained process. The description unleashed a great dialogue that uncovered many of the key components of working together that people were wrestling with.

Toys, fun AND a massive adult engagement tool!

Raising Village Question:

What's one of your fav meeting "toys?"  How do you use it?

RTV# 44 One WORD at a time!

A Year of Raising the Village. Week #44: One WORD at a time!


Look up the definition of the word "Word" and you might find this description: Putting one’s feelings into words or a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning.


The key term that pops for us here is, meaning. One of the things we have found working with individuals, groups and community is that what one word means to one person may mean something completely different to someone else.

Multiple meanings behind a word will vary between people based on many factors such as; perceptions, experiences and feelings. In Graham's book Exploring Perspectives, the author states that our reactions to words may also be triggered by semantic distractions, the trigger words that send blood rising. They become the focus of attention, instead of what the person is saying about any of those things. Our reactions can distract us and have our mind shut down from what another person is trying to communicate. So much for active listening, meaningful dialogue, and getting on the same page!

One suggestion is that we don’t just listen to the verbiage but we ALSO listen to the emotional content behind it (the inflection, eye contact, pitch, tone, speed and body language) so that we can SEE what this word means to someone. Keep the focus on the other person speaking and save your reaction to the word until it’s your turn to share.

Think about what’s available when we truly put aside our own reactions and actively focus on someone else. Hearing MANY meanings behind words can move groups towards a collective understanding, definition and goal. Imagine checking in with your group regularly around the definitions of certain words like: diversity, outreach, inclusivity, and the ever popular village raising term of collaboration. What does collaboration mean to you? What does being inclusive look like? What symbolizes diversity? Asking such questions helps to clarify the key words that are often the base of working together.

In other words, it helps us to find group meaning...one word at a time.

Village Raising Question:

• What “word” could use a clarity check-in for you and your organization?




• This week, notice words that pop out for you. What meaning do they hold for you? How about for those you work with? Look for clarity check-in opportunities.

We’d love to hear what words send you to the group check-in counter. Facebook, e-mail, tweet, or write to us.

RTV #43 Know it, gift it!

A Year of Raising the Village: Week #43 Know it, gift it.

Drum roll please...we have a WINNER for the 1st annual RTV Know it Design Scholarship. And the winner is...


Before we reveal the name (and to keep you reading for a tad) let us offer up a bit of backgrounder behind this whole notion of a RTV Design scholarship. How did it come to be?
If you’ve read our book, followed our blog or participated in one of our workshops, then you know we are huge “come from a place of strength” believers. So when it was time to co-create our latest Raising the Village work plan we decided to redesign and add pieces to our village raising efforts that were largely based on our strengths. Now it’s one thing to know your strengths and another to offer them up. Voila, we decided to gift a free of charge scholarship to ONE lucky applicant.

What is this Know It Design Experience you ask? It’s for people who are:

• Looking for inspired agenda or workshop planning


• Seeking new engagement strategies


• Needing a fresh perspective or some facilitation clarity


• Wanting more energized collaboration


• Planning an important community meeting or initiative – but want more ideas on how to proceed (or maybe don’t even know where to start).

It’s for those that want to
1. Know Yourself (your leadership, mindset, goals, strengths)
2. Know Your Group (the group’s goals, vision, development)
3. Pick a Process (a process that moves forward your goals)

Based on the thoughtful applications we received there are definitely people looking for this type of experience. We are incredibly grateful for all of the applicants in this year’s scholarship. We want to work with all of you and will be in touch with some additional ways to connect. Thank you for taking the time to reflect on your community/group goals and for sharing these with us. We hold your responses in great regard and feel inspired by the amazing scope of leadership out there! These applications were true testaments of what you do know about your groups and the gifts you bring to them.

Alas, there can only be one winner. Drum roll please... the winner is Sally Christie of New Zealand. Congratulations Sally, we’ll be in touch!

Tammy & Tracy

Village Raising Question: What are your strengths? How do you gift them?

RTV #42 - Get it in writing

A Year of Raising the Village. Week #42 –Get it in Writing!

ACTIVE commitments have more staying power than those that are made passively.

It can be frustrating when trying to drum up some volunteers - and the bulk of the work continues to land on the same few shoulders. This road is sure to lead to burnout.

An interesting study found that the number of people who agreed to volunteer didn't change whether it was an active or passive response  but the difference was who actually showed up. And in the end, that is what counts!

ONLY 17% of those who passively volunteered ("said" yes or raised their hand) showed up while 49% of those who actively volunteered came as promised.


The obvious observation, then, is to try to get ACTIVE commitments.  What does that look like?  The study found that when commitments get written down, the individual is connected more strongly with a  judgment on themselves. So it becomes more difficult to shake off, ignore or downplay their commitment.

Have a sign up sheet! Then circulate that list as a reminder!

In our experience, the same goes for acknowledgements. Passive thank you's to those who have volunteered are "nice." But thank you cards, posters with names and articles that highlight people cement positive interactions.

Getting it in writing goes both ways!

RTV#41 The Devil's Advocate

A Year of Raising the Village. Week #41 – The Devil's Advocate

For nearly 4 centuries, when an individual became a candidate for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church, decision makers relied on the Advocatus Diaboli, or devil's advocate, to investigate all the negative aspects of the candidate's life and their work. The idea was that with a thorough investigation that uncovered all the unfavorable information for the Church leadership, the decision making process would be better informed.


A lone dissenter in an otherwise unanimous group may be enough to generate more creative and complex thinking within the entire group. The question is - are devil's advocates (essentially pretend dissenters) just as effective? Authors of the book Yes! - Goldstein, Martin and Cialdini, share that there is conflicting evidence about how helpful the devil's advocate approach is.

On one hand, studies showed that a real dissenter is more persuasive as the group sees the arguments as more valid than the devil's advocate.   With a real dissenter, the group searches to understand what makes the dissenter believe what they believe in order to broaden their perspective.

At the same time, other findings support that experience with devil's advocates also strengthen confidence in decisions because the group believes that they have considered, and subsequently dismissed, all possible alternatives. In addition, practicing with a devil's advocate may help a group's climate to become more open where opposing views are accepted so that the safety for true dissenters is higher and they speak up.

Village Raising Question

What do you think? What has your experience been with using devil's advocates in a group decision making process?


Try the RTV Know it Design Experience to learn more about leading a great group.  We offer a customized process designed to help you get clear on your goals AND find the process to enhance the goal. Apply for our first free scholarship now: ( APPLY HERE!!!!) . All applications are due by October 15th at midnight PST. We’ll announce the winner on Monday, October 24th right here on our blog.

RTV#40 De-fuzz: Express Clearly!

A Year of Raising the Village. Week #40 – De-fuzz: Express Clearly!

What could use some explaining in your life right now? Maybe you have been asked to give a presentation but the outline is still a little on the fuzzy side? Maybe there is a glaring red flag in your inbox that doesn’t quite have a response yet?

Well, maybe it’s time to get clear about what you want to communicate.

In the book Boost Your Brain Power Bill Lucas outlines six questions to ask when you are preparing for ANY explanation of purpose (yes, this could be used to help present the case of homework to your children). Try these on:

1. What do you want the other person to know, or what do they want to know?
2. How much do they already know? (Gauge the level of understanding and do research if more details are appropriate).
3. What’s the main point you are trying to make? Cut to the chase.
4. What else is important? (perhaps give a simple example or analogy).
5. How will you deal with any feelings involved? (How will what you are saying impact or affect others?)
6. What kind of language would work best? (Watch tone and jargon too).

Looking for more depth? Want even more clarity? We are group process de-fuzzers. Try the RTV Know it Design Experience, a customized process designed to help you get clear on your goals AND find the process to enhance the goal. Apply for our first free scholarship now: ( APPLY HERE!!!!) . All applications are due by October 15th at midnight PST. We’ll announce the winner on Monday, October 24th right here on our blog.

RTV #39 - Re-energize: 7 Easy Ways to Bring Humour to Your Work

A Year of Raising the Village - Week #39: Re-energize - 7 Easy Ways to Bring Humour to Your Work!

When’s the last time you bust a seam while at the water cooler? Let off some steam as a team? Did the co-worker stomach clutch while tears trickled down your face?

It's been awhile, you may say, there’s complex issues, big deadlines, budget constraints and unmet client challenges...where’s the humour in that?
Perhaps that’s all the more reason to find where your group chuckle lies. According to this list – there are more than 101 ways to create humor at work! This list holds MORE than clown costumes and fun. In fact, it highlights ways to create better leaders, build engaged relationships and increase productivity (all of which are prime Village Raising components)!

Here we highlight 7 at work re-energizers that caught our eye (do adapt these to any group, team, or organization you work with):

1. Post it: post on a bulletin board in the common area; take turns with coworkers posting different topics on the board (add some light and "getting to know you" topics)
2. Get Cartoony: start a cartoon board and post fav. Illustrations
3. Showcase your kids – start a mural of “look at what my kid made” – team members will be sure to delight
4. Tell the future: Build a paper fortune teller using work lingo
5. Mix it up: Create work appropriate (and self selected) nicknames for people on your team using anagrams (or make pirate names, or name your department or…)
6. Improv.: Play improv. games as a team
7. Pin ups: Make a themed calendar full of pictures of your group

For the full list go to: http://www.humorthatworks.com/how-to/101-ways-to-create-humor-at-work

Village Raising Question:
How do you bring humour to work? What’s the benefit to you and for others?